so just had this conversation with my boy shepley, talking about goals. he was saying that it's good to just be able to check some shit off your list-- get something done that you set out to do. Which I get-- no argument.
On the other hand, I saw this post on FB recently, put up by some guy in his 20s, talking about how basically your life is a mess and driftless if you DON'T have goals. So get some goals, right?! and tay after 'em... (Cross-fitters, do you agree? ) ---
My knee-jerk reaction is... that's some stupid, almost adolescent shit. (and if we're all passing along "wisdom" from some 20something then we're definitely hurting.)
But, knee-jerk reaction aside, here are some thoughts: having goals and sticking to them is kind of a Stephen Covey-type thing. You know, "begin with the end in mind" and all that. And there's some good in it, I imagine. Like if I did that more often, I could actually complete some things, "check them off the list" and move on.
But, I actually don't buy it. I view life more as this constant flow-- a river-trip in a canoe that affords opportunities to get out and explore, to stop and camp, to take side trips-- all that, but in the end, you get back in the canoe and keep going. Goal-orientation seems to want to break that process up into "manageable, bite-size proportions", that are succinct and finite.
I take issue with the bucket-lists, the tick-lists... Life isn't just a trip to the amusement park, where you wait in line for the "favorite" ride, get on, do it, then it's over. I'm gonna draw on three or four of my hobbies/ interests/ activities to talk about this:
climbing mountains: there are alot of folks in Colorado that have their tick-lists. They like to "bag" peaks, then cross them off their lists and move on. Which invites only a superficial, one-dimensional way of interacting with mountains, or the natural world in general: as something to be experienced directly once-- even "conquered"-- before moving on to the next thing.
I've got mountains that I know nearby that I've visited, hiked, explored dozens of times. Every time a little different, or alot: the weather, the route, the people I run into, the light, my thoughts, the snow, the wind, the temperature-- the all of it. These mountains were there before me, gonna be there long after I'm gone. I'm the lucky guy that just gets to explore-- to walk and climb and breath it in.
The epitome of the experience is not getting to the top. Yes, it is a type of goal, I suppose-- but more just kind of the turning-around spot. The real goal is just getting out and being in it again, experiencing the place, the time, the day.
So no, I don't do this with this "goal" of getting to the top-- then I've done it and can go down and forget about it-- or brag about it briefly on FB-- then move on. The intention-- in place of a goal-- is to be present, alive, and a witness to the universe or the natural world at that place and time. Having a goal of climbing that peak, or climbing many peaks, is misguided, basically.
I think I could have a similar conversation viewing goals through the lens of chess, of gardening, of yoga. The goal is not to win the game, but to engage deeply (though winning is nice); not to have a huge harvest (though that's nice too), but to dig in soil, plant, water, nurture, harvest, eat, sleep, wake up and do it again through the seasons. In yoga, not to attain the ability to perform all the most difficult asanas-- though that's nice too!-- but simply to move my body, to stretch deeply, to inhale, to take rest.
maybe this just boils down to process versus product? but maybe has more subtle implications for how we go about our days--
nice chatting again, shep! :)
-t
On the other hand, I saw this post on FB recently, put up by some guy in his 20s, talking about how basically your life is a mess and driftless if you DON'T have goals. So get some goals, right?! and tay after 'em... (Cross-fitters, do you agree? ) ---
My knee-jerk reaction is... that's some stupid, almost adolescent shit. (and if we're all passing along "wisdom" from some 20something then we're definitely hurting.)
But, knee-jerk reaction aside, here are some thoughts: having goals and sticking to them is kind of a Stephen Covey-type thing. You know, "begin with the end in mind" and all that. And there's some good in it, I imagine. Like if I did that more often, I could actually complete some things, "check them off the list" and move on.
But, I actually don't buy it. I view life more as this constant flow-- a river-trip in a canoe that affords opportunities to get out and explore, to stop and camp, to take side trips-- all that, but in the end, you get back in the canoe and keep going. Goal-orientation seems to want to break that process up into "manageable, bite-size proportions", that are succinct and finite.
I take issue with the bucket-lists, the tick-lists... Life isn't just a trip to the amusement park, where you wait in line for the "favorite" ride, get on, do it, then it's over. I'm gonna draw on three or four of my hobbies/ interests/ activities to talk about this:
climbing mountains: there are alot of folks in Colorado that have their tick-lists. They like to "bag" peaks, then cross them off their lists and move on. Which invites only a superficial, one-dimensional way of interacting with mountains, or the natural world in general: as something to be experienced directly once-- even "conquered"-- before moving on to the next thing.
I've got mountains that I know nearby that I've visited, hiked, explored dozens of times. Every time a little different, or alot: the weather, the route, the people I run into, the light, my thoughts, the snow, the wind, the temperature-- the all of it. These mountains were there before me, gonna be there long after I'm gone. I'm the lucky guy that just gets to explore-- to walk and climb and breath it in.
The epitome of the experience is not getting to the top. Yes, it is a type of goal, I suppose-- but more just kind of the turning-around spot. The real goal is just getting out and being in it again, experiencing the place, the time, the day.
So no, I don't do this with this "goal" of getting to the top-- then I've done it and can go down and forget about it-- or brag about it briefly on FB-- then move on. The intention-- in place of a goal-- is to be present, alive, and a witness to the universe or the natural world at that place and time. Having a goal of climbing that peak, or climbing many peaks, is misguided, basically.
I think I could have a similar conversation viewing goals through the lens of chess, of gardening, of yoga. The goal is not to win the game, but to engage deeply (though winning is nice); not to have a huge harvest (though that's nice too), but to dig in soil, plant, water, nurture, harvest, eat, sleep, wake up and do it again through the seasons. In yoga, not to attain the ability to perform all the most difficult asanas-- though that's nice too!-- but simply to move my body, to stretch deeply, to inhale, to take rest.
maybe this just boils down to process versus product? but maybe has more subtle implications for how we go about our days--
nice chatting again, shep! :)
-t
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